The Yankees Are Running Wild And It’s Starting To Work

The Yankees’ running game has had its share of blooper reels. We’ve seen Austin Wells wander off with two outs like he heard last call, and Jazz Chisholm Jr. get doubled off first on an infield pop-up.. Toss in a couple of first-to-third “scenic route” attempts, and the mistakes have been ugly. 

But that isn’t the whole story, especially now.  

Since July 25, the Yankees have swiped 42 bases in 32 games, the most in the Majors over that span and their best 32-game burst since the summer of 2011. The big picture is that they’re at 106 steals on the season, already their most since 2014 (112). It’s also their most through 134 games in the last 14 years, and just the fifth time since 1990 they’ve been this aggressive this early (1998, 2001, 2006, 2011, now), according to the team’s game notes. 

The difference lately is intent and the addition of admitted MLB pest Jose Caballero. 

 Early in the year, the Yankees ran into outs; recently, they’ve been creating runs.

 Will there be another embarrassing mistake? Probably. Aggression comes with a bruise or two. But in a month where they are battling to stay in the playoff picture and the power is out, speed keeps the inning alive. When the bullpen’s on a tightrope, a stolen base can hand them a cushion. 

The Yankees are built on power and pitching, but now they add some pressure to the opposing defense with their speed and savvy. If they keep stacking smart steals and ditch the brain cramps, that plays all the way to October.